


Not Quite Valentines

by vidnyia



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 80s AU, Jearmintines 2020 Day One - High School, M/M, these boys are idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22696960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vidnyia/pseuds/vidnyia
Summary: This is a prequel to my fic Arms Unfolding, back when Armin and Jean were in high school! You don't need to have read the full fic to understand what's going on, this is purely some self-indulgent fluff.Jean gets a lot of attention on Valentine's Day, but there's only one person he's interested in spending it with.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	Not Quite Valentines

There were many reasons why Armin hated Valentine’s Day. 

His school went  _ crazy  _ for it. It was hyped up for weeks, and it was all anyone could talk about. As early as mid-January, Armin kept getting distracted in class because the girls were loudly whispering about who they were hoping to get chocolate from. It put him off his studies and made his mind wander. They never talked about him, and he was fine with that. 

To him, Valentine’s Day seemed pointless. What was the point of waiting until a specific day to tell someone you loved them? The way he saw it, it was just another way for the stores to sell cards and chocolate. He wasn’t about to be fooled by the commercialism of it all. It, quite frankly, annoyed him. There was so much focus on the day that anyone without a Valentine was almost  _ pitied.  _ Armin didn’t need the reminder that he wasn’t going to have a date. He was just fine as he was, and he didn’t feel any pressure to ask out some random girl just because the day called for it. 

The worst part, though, the part he  _ really  _ couldn’t stand, was that Jean seemed to attract more attention on Valentine’s than he did on any other day of the year. 

Jean got a lot of attention as it was. Armin knew that his best friend was a good-looking guy, well above average. He could see that clearly for himself, and he thought he knew better than anyone. Girls often asked Jean out, less than subtly sliding notes to him during class and sometimes coming right out and saying it to his face. 

Normally it was fine. Normally Armin could deal with it because Jean always rejected them, but on Valentine’s Day, Jean never refused chocolate from any of the girls that gave it to him. 

It was their junior year, and Armin had been dreading Valentine’s for weeks. He was sat with Jean at their usual table, waiting for Connie and Sasha to come and join them. Armin had a book open and he was trying his best to pay attention to it, while his lunch sat ignored on its tray. He didn’t want to pay attention to the way the girls seemed to look over at their table more than usual, but he couldn’t help it. When a freshman girl came over to them, holding a box. Armin knew exactly what was coming and he was drawn away from his book to glance at her. 

“Hi,” she said nervously to Jean, and Armin heard the giggle of a group of girls from another table, where her friends were no doubt watching to see what would happen. 

“Hey,” Jean said back, leaning in his chair a little. Armin felt his stomach get tight at the way Jean spoke, his voice light and just a little flirtatious. “How’s it going?” 

“Fine!” The girl said. Her voice came out as barely more than a squeak. “Here! Happy Valentines!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Armin saw the girl thrust a box of chocolates at Jean, and quickly head off back to her friends after Jean thanked her. Armin knew he was smiling without even having to look, and as she walked away, Armin could see that the tips of the girl’s ears were bright red where they stuck out from her hair. Armin turned back to his book, then, not looking at Jean despite wanting to. He heard him unzip his backpack and shove the box inside. 

“Armin,” Jean said, poking him in the ribs. “Hey.”

Armin looked up at him, pouting. “What?”

If Jean noticed Armin’s sulky mood, he didn’t say anything. 

“Check it out,” he said, opening his backpack a little more so Armin could see inside. It was full of pink boxes of various shapes and sizes.

“You’re popular,” Armin murmured, turning back to his book. 

It sounded like Jean had been about to say something when he was interrupted by Connie and Sasha coming back to the table, and they were bickering loudly. 

“He gave them to me!” Sasha said defiantly. Her long brown hair was up in a ponytail that swung behind her when she shook her head. “We can share the other ones, just let me have these!”

“Why are those different?” Connie asked, exasperated.

“He  _ made _ them, I want them!” Sasha argued. “It’s special!”

“What’s so special about that? I could do it, I bet it’s not  _ that _ hard.”

“What’s going on?” Jean asked, looking between his friends as they sat down. 

“Niccolo made me some chocolate -” Sasha started. 

“And she won’t share!” Connie said. 

“We can share the ones you got for the both of us!” Sasha said, looking at him. 

Armin looked up at Connie’s defeated expression, knowing that he definitely hadn’t intended for those chocolates to be for the both of them. To Armin that only furthered his distaste for the entire holiday, sure that nothing good could come from it. 

“Here,” Jean said, pulling out a box from his bag and sliding it across the table to Connie. “Now you’re even. I’ve got more than I know what to with, anyway.”

“Show off,” Connie grumbled, but he took the box regardless. “How come you’re so popular, anyway?”

“Look at me,” Jean grinned, winking at Connie, and as Armin looked at Jean he was gripping his ignored book so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. “The girls love me.”

“How come you never ask any of them out then?” Sasha asked, leaning over to steal one of the chocolates that Jean had given to Connie. 

“Who has time for a girlfriend?” Jean asked. “Not me. I’m too busy.”

“Too busy doing what?” Connie teased. “Hanging out with Armin? Maybe you just bought all those chocolates for yourself...”

“Shut up, Connie,” Jean said. “Or do you want me to take those back?”

“No,” Connie said defensively. “I’m just saying, it’s awfully convenient that-”

“Jean?” A sophomore girl asked, stepping up to the table, her face bright red. Armin sighed and rolled his eyes ever so slightly. 

“Hey,” Jean said in that smooth voice again, and he stood up, tall enough to tower over the girl. “How’s it going?”

Armin noted that he was using the same line every time, but he was still moody about the fact that he was using it at all. 

“Good!” She squeaked, and started rambling about having gotten him a card and some sweets for Valentine’s. Armin looked up and Connie pulled a face at him that said ‘ _ can you believe this guy?’,  _ and Armin rolled his eyes right back, a small smile on his face. At least he wasn’t in this alone. 

When she left, Jean sat back down and grinned triumphantly at the three of them, a victorious look on his face. 

“What were you saying, Connie?” He asked 

“Nothing,” Connie grumbled. “Never mind.”

Armin, thankfully, didn’t have any more classes with Jean that day. Normally he hated Fridays for that reason, but it was a welcome relief to not have to see Jean’s half-smile, half-smirk when girls approached him every five minutes. It… it hurt, more than Armin cared to admit. 

That day, he had an AP class, so he was fully prepared to sulk home by himself. He got through the class, finally able to distract himself with the more challenging work. He wanted to push himself past the point of caring about Jean was up to. He wanted to stop worrying that maybe an especially beautiful girl might catch Jean’s eye and he might just end up asking her out. He didn’t want that - in fact, the idea made him feel sick. It had always been the two of them, Jean and Armin, and the idea of adding a girlfriend into the mix just felt wrong. 

He walked out of the school still reading, his hair tucked behind his ears as he made his way over to his bicycle. He just wanted to ride home and forget about the whole day. At least his mom always knew well enough to not ask any questions about having found a Valentine. 

“Hey.”

Jean’s voice almost made Armin jump out of his skin. Armin looked up from his book to see Jean standing there at the bike rack, leaning against the wall. 

“Jean! What are you still doing here?”

“What d’you mean? I was waiting for you,” Jean said, unlocking his bike. 

Armin felt his heart tighten up when Jean said that. Jean… waited for him. On Valentine’s Day, of all days, when Jean could have gone out for any of the girls that clearly liked him so much. 

“What?” Jean interrupted his thoughts. “You look surprised.”

“I am,” Armin said, blushing a little as he bent down to unlock his bike and put his book back in his bag. 

“Why? I always wait for you on Friday.”

“Yeah,” Armin said, “but this isn’t a normal Friday, is it?”

“Oh, are you talking about Valentine’s?”

“No, I’m talking about Christmas,” Armin murmured, and Jean laughed, ruffling his hair. 

“Very funny,” he grinned. “Now hurry up, I’m freezing. We’re going to the spot.”

Armin stood up, putting his helmet on and looking at him. “I thought you’d have a date.”

“Oh, the jokes don’t stop, do they?” Jean said. He got on his bike and waited for Armin. “Of course I don’t have a date, I’m just in it for the chocolate. Now let’s go.”

Armin and Jean’s spot was a half hour cycle out of their small town. They had found it as kids, tucked away in the woods. There was a small clearing where the grass stretched out for a while leading down to the river. It was their little secret. As far as Armin knew, nobody else came here but them, and that was the way he liked it.

When they arrived, Armin was a little sweaty from the ride, the exercise beating out the cold February air and keeping him warm. Jean had come prepared, and he sat out a blanket on the ground so they didn’t freeze from sitting right on the grass. 

Armin went to get out some of his schoolwork, but Jean reached over and pulled his hand away so he couldn’t. 

“No way, nerd,” he said, poking him in the side. “It’s a holiday, so you’re not allowed to do homework.”

“It’s the worst holiday of the entire year,” Armin pointed out. “Valentine’s is stupid.”

Jean leaned back and put his hand on his chest in feigned shock. 

“How could you,” he gasped. “Are you  _ heartless?”  _

“It’s stupid!” Armin said back, laughing. “It’s just an excuse for stores to sell cards and chocolate. It’s commercialised and pointless.”

“It’s an excuse for free chocolate, that’s what it is,” Jean corrected, reaching into his bag and pulling out a box. “See?”

“Now look who’s heartless,” Armin said, giving him side-eye. “Besides, only people like you get free chocolate.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You know!” Armin blushed. “Good looking people.”

“So you think I’m good looking?” Jean asked, and if Armin had looked at his face, he would have seen that Jean’s face was red too. 

“Everyone does,” Armin said. He was trying very hard not to sound weird. He really didn’t need to sound creepy on top of being, well, a reject. “That’s why you’re the one with all the chocolate.”

“It’s about the  _ aura _ , Armin, not the looks,” Jean said, popping a chocolate into my mouth. “I just happen to have both.”

Armin snorted and shook his head. “Doesn’t change my mind about how dumb this day is.”

“Oh, I guess I’ll have to eat all this by myself, then.”

“Go ahead,” Armin pouted. 

“Come  _ on _ , Ar,” Jean said, waving a chocolate in his face. “Just a  _ little _ bit of commercialised bullshit can’t hurt, can it? Come on…”

Armin took the candy from him and rolled his eyes again, ignoring Jean’s triumphant  _ whoop  _ as he ate the chocolate. 

They sat there for a while, watching the winter sun setting early in the sky, making the water from the river shine orange and red. 

“You know,” Jean said with his mouth full, “I quite like Valentine’s.”

“I’m not surprised,” Armin said. “Judging by the amount of attention you get.”

“Don’t be so sulky,” Jean teased, poking him in the cheek. “If those girls had any sense they’d be all over you.”

Armin snorted. 

“What?” Jean went on. “Come on… there’s got to be some girl out there that likes nerds.”

“Not interested,” Armin said. “I don’t  _ need _ a Valentine.”

It was the truth. Why would he need a girlfriend when he had Jean? His best friend was so much better than anything he could imagine anyway. He was tall, and good-looking, and they spent all their time together. Not to mention that he was funny, too. And they had the same taste in shows, and movies, and games, and -

“Yeah,” Jean agreed, his voice snapping Armin out of his thoughts. “I feel the same.”

By the time it was dark, they were both so full they didn’t want to move. 

“My mom’s gonna kill me for eating so much before dinner,” Jean laughed, leaning back on the ground and looking up at the stars. 

“Knowing you, by the time you get back, you’ll be hungry again,” Armin said. “I’m so full I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

“You don’t want any more chocolate, then?” Jean asked. “There’s still some left.”

“Ugh, don’t even joke about it,” Armin groaned. “I don’t want to ride back…”

“Want to ride on the back of my bike?” 

“And what, leave mine right here?” 

“Oh yeah,” Jean laughed. 

“Idiot,” Armin chuckled affectionately. 

“Come on,” Jean said, getting up and tugging at the blanket Armin was still sitting on. Reluctantly, Armin got up, and they made their way back to where they had left their bikes.

Armin couldn’t help but feel a little better, knowing that Jean had decided to spend a holiday he genuinely liked with Armin instead of one of the girls that were clearly so desperate for his attention. He liked when it was just them. 

Maybe it wouldn’t be forever, Armin thought, as they both headed back up the hidden path on their bikes. Maybe next year, Jean would finally say yes to one of those girls that asked him out, and everything would be different. But for now, like this, Armin was happy with the way things were. 

Despite all the commercialism, and the forced romance, and the awkwardness… Armin thought that maybe Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad. Not when he got to spend it with Jean. 


End file.
